Palm guards and wrist guards are known in the art for use in sports activities to protect a participant's hand and wrist from injury. Such guards are commonly used in roller skating, in-line skating, skateboarding, and snakeboarding to protect the hand and wrist area when a participant happens to fall and his/her hand or wrist impacts the unforgiving playing surfaces commonly associated with such sports.
The guards used in such sports are generally designed with goals of preventing abrasions and more serious injury to the hand and wrist area, cushioning the palm against impact from a fall, and preventing hyperextension of the wrist upon impact.
The prior art guards for skating, skateboarding and the like found on the market today generally include two major protective components: a first narrow, splint-like palm component for placement on the palm of the hand and a second narrow, splint-like wrist component placed on the back of the hand. The two components are generally incorporated into a protector commonly referred to as a wrist guard, or the components may be incorporated into an abbreviated glove having the finger portion covering only the upper phalange of each finger.
The palm component generally is an elongated, narrow splint-like element extending from the palm of the hand to above the wrist thereby providing little or no protection for the sides of the palm of the hand and for the base of the thumb. Such palm guards may be constructed from a soft substance to pad the palm area, or they may be made from a semi-rigid or rigid material. The wrist component is typically made from a semi-rigid or rigid material, and it is incorporated into the back of the hand portion of the wrist guard or glove. The wrist component is generally also an elongated, narrow splint-like element typically extending from the mid-portion of the back of the hand to approximately two inches above the wrist thereby preventing extension of the hand. Fasteners may also be provided to tighten and secure the glove to the hand.
Skating and skateboarding participants may not wear the available protective wrist guards or gloves for a variety of reasons. Some users report that the available gloves restrict freedom of movement of the hand, particularly the wrist component, and such gloves may be bulky and/or hot to wear comfortably. The padding or device used to protect the palm area, in conjunction with the wrist component on the back of the hand, often does not allow effective heat dissipation. The prior art wrist guards and protective gloves place the user's hand and wrist between two splints thereby effectively preventing up and down flexure of the wrist.
In addition to the problems cited above, when worn, the available protective gloves may not provide adequate protection to the wearer. The available palm guards for in-line skating and the like are generally too narrow to protect against impact or shock to the sides of the palm and the heel of the hand, particularly to the base of the thumb in the heel area of the hand.